City Morgue – “My Bloody America” review

This is the 4th & final full-length album from New York trap metal outfit City Morgue. Consisting of ZillaKami & SosMula on the mic alongside honorary 3rd member Thraxx on production, I first caught wind of them due to ZillaKami’s verse on Denzel Curry’s classic 3rd album TA13OO & their debut that followed shortly after Hell or High Water completely stopping me in my tracks. Mostly because prior to that album, I never heard anyone fuse trap with metal music in the way that they did. This was followed up with the worthy sequel As Good as Dead, the mediocre debut EP Toxic Boogaloo & their previous album Bottom of the Barrel following SosMula & ZillaKami’s respective solo debuts 13 Songs 2 Die 2 & DOG BOY. However after several delays, they’re officially making My Bloody America their last hurrah.

After the “Hell” intro, the first song “Skull & Bones 322” marks the beginning of the end by cautioning to either phone home or start duckin’ on top of a bombastic trap metal instrumental with some industrial undertones whereas “Sauna” works in some rage beats talking about bringing the drama. “Haha Waco” features co-production from Taz Taylor so the City Morgue can eerily threat their opposition over an industrial/horror synth hybrid just before “Boy in the Box” talks about catching bodies taking it back to their signature trap metal sound.

“Welcome to the Hatman” dives right back into hypertrap territory delivering some demonic performances in the midst of all the sonic chaos leading into “Funny” being one of my favorite cuts on the album due to Powers Pleasant’s trap metal production being one of the best instrumentals on the album & the lyrics about how no one wanted them to succeed. After the “Counting Casualties” interlude, “Pros” boasts that they only hang with the best on top of more heavy guitars & hi-hats that is until “Vacant” asks how the fuck exactly you gon’ die with it over another rage beat.

Meanwhile, “Wicked” advises that you can’t walk around when they’re in your town over a heinous instrumental & “Locksmith” goes into psychedelic territory talking about being a problem. “Stupid Games” is another highlight for me as their honorary 3rd member Thraxx takes it back to their signature sound for old time’s sake asking if you want to die, but then the final song “Russian” prior to the “Tide” outro delving into hypertrap ending their 7 year saga by talking about hearing their competition is food & that it’s time for supper.

Hell or High Water stands as a landmark in the trap metal subgenre & As Good as Dead was a great sophomore effort, but I think Kami & Sos went out by delivering a long-awaited improvement over Bottom of the Barrel couple years back. They try out some new sounds while keeping their trap metal roots in tact & the fact there’s not a solo song on here is interesting since these guys display their chemistry 1-last time. I wish them nothing but the best in their solo careers.

Score: 3.5/5

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City Morgue – “Bottom of the Barrel” review

City Morgue is a trio from New York City consisting of ZillaKami & SosMula on the mic as well as honorary 3rd member Thraxx on production. I first caught wind of them due to ZillaKami’s verse on Denzel Curry’s magnum opus TA13OO, but the group’s full-length debut that followed shortly after Hell or High Water completely stopped me in my tracks. Mostly because prior to that album, I never heard anyone fuse trap with metal music in the way that they did. This was followed up with the worthy sequel As Good as Dead & the mediocre Toxic Boogaloo EP but after spending these last couple months branching out solo, they’re returning for their highly anticipated 3rd album.

“Death Cult” is a short yet cutthroat trap metal opener telling their competition to run for the hill leading into Jasiah tagging along for the eerie “Cabin in the Woods” comparing themselves to Jason Voorhees from the famous Friday the 13th franchise. “Conscience” works in a heavy guitar & a rubbery bass-line to talk about clearing their minds whereas the Thraxx-produced “Make It Disappear” viciously get in their murder bag.

Meanwhile on “What’s My Name?”, we get a wailing guitar rhythm & some punchy 808s talking about marching like dogs just before “Everything’s Broken” is a grunge/trap fusion about blowing their brains out. The first SosMula solo cut “OHDEE” has a more chilled out trap vibe speaking on grinding nonstop, but then the first ZillaKami solo cut “Flat Lips” brings in a down-tuned guitar talking about moshing.

The duo reunite for the abrasive “Hot Shells” comparing themselves to Captain Price from Modern Warfare 2 whereas “Mother Lover” advises not to get fucked up on their mothers. The song “X-Mas Balla” has a chugging riff with the help of Powers Pleasant proclaiming themselves as rat killers & reptilians while the penultimate track “Outer Space” by SosMula is just so annoyingly repetitive. However, the closer “Mutt B” by ZillaKami makes up for it by energetically lighting up anyone who steps up to him.

Even though I was underwhelmed by Toxic Boogaloo & 13 Songs 2 Die 2, I did enjoy Dogboy yet still didn’t quite know what to expect from Bottom of the Barrel. Now that we finally got the album, it’s pretty decent. It’s definitely more focused than Toxic Boogaloo was, but play middle ground with their signature trap metal sound rather than expanding on it.

Score: 3/5

ZillaKami – “Dogboy” review

ZillaKami is a 21 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Islip, New York who originally came up as part of the punk band Scud Got Quayle. He later began ghostwriting for someone who’s name I refuse to acknowledge on my platform to leave it at that before forming City Morgue alongside SosMula & their honorary 3rd member/producer Thraxx. Together, they started to make a name for themselves in the fall of 2018 by uniquely fusing trap with metal on their full-length debut Hell or High Water. But just a month after Sos dropped his solo debut 13 Songs 2 Die 2 to mixed reception, it’s only right for Kami to step next at bat before the gang gets back together for Bottom of the Barrel at the end of the year.

“Chewing Gum!” is a ass-kicking trap/rock opened produced by Thraxx taking shots at a certain rat whereas “Chains” is a Hellish follow-up about choking betrayers with his ice. I can definitely see “Lemon Juice” getting the pits going with its lyrics about punching motherfuckers & it’s down-tuned guitar riff just before “Not Worth It” goes into grunge territory saying he doesn’t deserve everyone’s love.

Meanwhile on “Hello”, we have Kami paying homage to the iconic Nirvana joint “Smells Like Teen Spirit” leading into Denzel Curry tagging along for the emo-tinged “Bleach”. I think the chaotic Suffolk County homage that “631 Made Me” delivers does a great job at showing us his upbringings, but then “I.H.Y. (I Hate You)” serves as a distorted “fuck the world” theme.

“Badass” has a bit of a nu metal flare to it with Lil Uzi Vert coming into the picture to help declare themselves as such & after the “Tactical Nuke” interlude, “Nissan Only” aggressively gets in his shooter bag just before “Black Cats” comes off as another Nirvana tribute.

The song “dedgrl” is a downtrodden story about a broken woman killing herself while the penultimate track “Frosty” goes into alt-rock turf detailing ZillaKami’s very own depression. “Space Cowboy” then ends the album with grungy tribute to his fallen homie.

I was a bit worried given how mediocre 13 Songs 2 Die 2 was, but he really came through with it. He sticks to the trap metal sound that City Morgue came up on with the exception of the alt-rock/grunge shit, but his songwriting is much better & I like how he only brought in 2 features rather than having one on damn near every joint.

Score: 3.5/5

City Morgue – “Toxic Boogaloo” review

This is the 2nd EP from New York trio City Morgue. I became a fan of theirs in 2018 because of how ZillaKami, SosMula & Thraxx uniquely fused trap with metal on their debut Hell or High Water. A sophomore effort As Good as Dead came out just this past winter & even through Thraxx hardly did the production on there, Kami & Sos were able to get the criminally underrated Mike Dean to fill in that gap. But with their tour being one of the many to get cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re making it up to the fans with Toxic Boogaloo.

Things start off with “THE ELECTRIC EXPERIENCE”, where the duo compare themselves to Deadshot over a bombastic beat from Powers Pleasant. The next song “HURTWORLD ‘99” talks about wanting to fuck up anyone who comes at them over a trap metal instrumental while the track “YELLOW PISS” finds ZillaKami going solo to talk about death being longer than life over a chaotic beat from Thraxx. The song “BUAKAW” talks about their haters being pussy over some hi-hats & heavy guitars while the track “YAKUZA” is an unfinished SosMula solo joint backed by a beat that sounds something out of a horror movie.

The song “CRANK” sees the duo getting back together to talk about getting into altercations carrying MACs on them & not the Mac line of Apple Inc. computers over an eerie beat while the track “YOU CAN SUCK MY DICK” is another ZillaKami solo cut about him bringing the smoke to anyone who wants it over bass-heavy instrumental. The song “ALL KILLER NO FILLER” talks about destroying shit over another trap metal beat whereas “SUPER SOAKA” is of course another SosMula solo song that’s even more half-baked than the previous one. The album finishes with “PROSTHETIC LEGS”, where the duo talk about being wardogs over an abrasive beat.

Coming from someone who enjoyed City Morgue’s last 2 albums a lot, this project is a disappointment. I think their whole style is still unique, but it just sounds like ZillaKami & SosMula rushed the shit outta it. Hopefully they take their time on the next album.

Score: 2.5/5

City Morgue – “As Good as Dead” review

City Morgue is a trio from New York City consisting of ZillaKami & SosMula on the mic as well as Thraxx on production. I first caught wind of them last summer due to ZillaKami’s verse on Denzel Curry’s TA13OO, but the group’s full-length debut that followed shortly after Hell or High Water completely stopped me in my tracks. Mostly because prior to that album, I never heard anyone fuse trap with metal music in the way that they did. They’ve gone rogue since then, but they’re finally re-emerging with their sophomore effort over here.

It all starts with “Neck Brace”, where Zilla & Sos interpolate the classic Death Grips track “Guillotine” over an abrasive trap beat instrumental from Thraxx. The next song “Inferior” talks about how they’re better than their competition over an trap metal beat from Mike Dean while the song “DRAINO” with Denzel Curry sees the 3 talking about self-medication over a slower instrumental. “The Give Up” talks about suicide over a somber acoustic instrumental while the song “Thresh” goes out to everyone who be stuntin’ & the beat on this one sounds like something out of a horror flick

The track “Splinter” talks about killing snitches over an frightening instrumental while the song “Minimiyza” finds ZillaKami & IDK talking about their enemies over a slow guitar riff & some snares. “The Balloons” sees the duo reuniting to vent about their personal struggles over a druggy beat while the song “Soul Burn” is a SosMula solo cut about always being strapped over a distorted instrumental.

The track “16 Toes” is a ZillaKami solo cut about standing strong over a legitimate hard rock instrumental while the song “WOAH” finds Sos talking about his criminal past over a trap beat with some plinky keyboards. The track “DIRTNAP” of course talks about murdering people over another killer trap metal fusion while the song “C4” talks about rioting of the precious cut over a chaotic instrumental.

The track “Babywipes” touches down on violence over a dark, cavernous beat while the song “Mouthgard” talks about build & destroy over an eerie trap instrumental. The penultimate track “Screaming at the Rain” talks about depression over another trap beat with some downtuned guitars & then the album ends with “Peeling Scabs”, where ZillaKami talks about his family as SosMula talks about the system over a gloomy acoustic guitar lead.

To me, this is just as dope as the trio’s debut. It’s like 8 minutes longer & a lot of the beats are ok, but I like how they brought in a couple outside features to break up the monotony & Mike Dean’s mixing is absolutely phenomenal.

Score: 3.5/5

City Morgue – “Hell or High Water” review

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City Morgue is a New York hip hop trio consisting of producer Thraxx alongside MCs ZillaKami & SosMula. They dropped an EP back in August & while I thought Zilla’s feature on the latest Denzel Curry album TA13OO was just ok, the trio’s full-length debut over here eventually got the best of me & I decided to give it a shot.

The album begins with “Caligula”, which is a mosh pit anthem with an abrasive trap beat. The next song “Arson” pretty much speaks for itself over a metal/trap fusion while the track “KenPark” sees SosMula & Black Kray spitting gun bars over a sinister heavy guitar lead with some hi-hats. The song “Gravehop187” is the duo reuniting albeit with Black Kray once again to get murderous over a chaotic instrumental while the track “Lamborghini Getaway” talks about 2 drug dealers doing their thing & escaping from the cops over a sinister trap beat from Ronny J.

The song “Nuka Cola” is filled with battle bars over a monstrous Powers Pleasant instrumental while the track “PTSD” gets back on the murder tip over a trap beat with a Halloween-esque guitar in the background. The song “So What” talks about how they don’t give a fuck over another intriguing fusion of metal & trap while the track “Snow on tha Bluff” is a tune inspired by the independent film with the same name with a druggy Ronny J instrumental.

The song “Downer” is all about how asshole-ish the trio are over a nu metal instrumental with some skittering snares while the track “Aw Shit” is a club banger with a cloudy trap instrumental. The song “SHINNERS13” talks about how they’ll ride for each other over a rap metal instrumental while the penultimate track “33rd Blakk Glass” is all about being unbreakable over an electronic/trap fusion. The album then closes with “SK8 HEAD”, which is a tribute to their skate team over a trap beat with some haunting synthesizers.

I really didn’t know what to expect going in, but this is truly one of the wildest trap records I’ve heard all year. It’s a little short & the 2 Black Krey features are meh but the youthful, angry chemistry between ZillaKami & SosMula is adrenaline inducing. And on top of that: the production suits this aggressiveness near perfectly. Especially with the trap/metal fusions, which I don’t recall ever hearing being done prior to this & I think it really does it’s part in helping them stand out in this modern day trap scene.

Score: 4/5